PNEUMATICALLY SUPPORTED SPATIAL ATTITUDE SIMULATOR
A flight simulator rests on a plurality of air cushions as a hovercraft and assumes spatial attitudes depending upon the relative heights of the air cushions. Flight controls determine the volume of air supplied to each air cushion and thereby control the pitch and roll attitudes of the flight simulator. The simulator may be connected to an external support frame and may thereby be subjected to longitudinal, lateral, and rotational movements.
Spatial attitude simulators provide a working environment for the training of individuals whose jobs may require them to perform while in unusual spatial attitudes. Foremost amongst these are flight attitude simulators which are used to train pilots to fly aircraft that may be in any number of spatial attitudes during flight. Flight simulators have been known and used for many years, and generally require elaborate hydraulic, mechanical, and electrical actuation and control systems. The machinery and hardware used in traditional flight simulators requires extensive installation and setup, often including below-deck piping and wiring, and demand a high level of maintenance to keep them operating smoothly. For these reasons, flight simulators are expensive to acquire and maintain, and lack the portability that may be desirable for use in rural environments in which flight training facilities are few and far between. What is needed is a flight simulator that is inexpensive to acquire, easy to install and maintain, and that is portable with a minimum of activity required for setup and breakdown, and that may be stored for transport in small truck-sized bundles.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator of this invention is a flight simulator platform resting on a pneumatic air cushion that is constantly refreshed from a blower pump that supplies air to provide the cushion (“a hovercraft base”). In a manner similar to a hovercraft, air is pumped into an air cavities surrounded by a skirt. Hovercraft have existed since at least the 1950s, and are primarily used as transports that may travel laterally over a variety of diverse terrains. In this invention, however, the hovercraft base supporting the flight simulator does not traverse laterally, but simply raises or lowers as air pressure within any of a number of air cavities increases or decreases. A flight simulator cockpit supported by the hovercraft base will exhibit pitch upward or downward, and roll to the right or left, as air is directed to one or another of the supporting air cavities comprising the cushion. Direction, deflection, and diversion of the air supply can be accomplished using any number of control systems having different working components and media. Such systems include, but are not limited to, controllers using hydraulics, electrical, and mechanical air valve actuators. Such systems are in widespread use in actual aircraft, and their operation is well-known in the art of aircraft control systems. In the simulator of this invention, any of those controllers would be suitable to actuate air valves and diverters that would 1 direct high pressure air into any one, or a plurality, of air chambers as desired to cause the responsive mechanical movement of the flight simulator cockpit.
In an embodiment of the invention, the simulator may be connected to stationary points (anchors) within its local environment, and may use those stationary points to induce lateral, longitudinal, and rotational movements to the simulator. The stationary points may be integral to the local environment, such as bulkhead or concrete floor anchors in a building, or may be a self-contained frame that is part of the simulator system. In the self-contained embodiment, the simulator may be harnessed to the anchor points with hydraulically or electrically actuated pistons and flexible straps that may also be expandable, such as bungee cords. Lateral or longitudinal movement of the simulator may be produced by elongating adjacent pistons and shortening opposing pistons. Rotational movement may be caused by elongating diametrically oppositely situated pistons while shortening adjacent pistons. The use of bungee cords to connect pistons to the simulator allows the simulator to experience pitch or roll attitudes caused by the hovercraft base while simultaneously undergoing rotational or lateral movement caused by external pistons and bungee cord connectors.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a simple mechanical controller attached to the “control stick” or “yoke” of the simulator operates a valve system that directs air into one or another of the segmented air chambers. In order to achieve the desired pitch and roll movements for a flight simulator, a minimum of three air chambers is recommended, although any number of air chambers greater than two can be used to achieve any desired spatial attitude. A preferred embodiment having a four-chambered system may be advantageous for simplicity of concept and installation, as each air chamber is situated beneath, and directly affects the positioning of the “nose,” the “tail,” or the “right” or “left” wing. As such, installation and setup can be completed by moderately skilled personnel, and control systems for a four-chambered system are straightforward in being coordinated to a simulator's control stick or yoke. For example, in a four-chambered system, movement fore and aft on the control stick or yoke will directly modify the airflow into air chambers in front of or behind the cockpit, while a right or left movement will direct airflow into the left or right air chambers. In addition, a four-chambered system embodiment may be particularly well suited to use a mechanical or hydraulic controller as the valves for diverting air into specific chambers may be in direct communication with the control stick or yoke.
Conversely, embodiments having an odd number of chambers will require greater complexity in a controller in order to translate stick or yoke movements into appropriate air valve openings. In such embodiments, electronic, or “fly-by-wire” systems may be incorporated, and can perform the coordinated valve movements required to achieve appropriate movement of the simulator cockpit by proportionately directing air into a plurality of chambers simultaneously. Thus, while the invention is primarily illustrated and discussed in terms of a four-chambered embodiment, it is not limited to that embodiment, and multi-chambered embodiments using hydraulic, electronic, or other control systems known in the art are included within the concept of the pneumatically actuated spatial attitude simulator of this invention.
In a four-chambered system, as air from the blower is directed into an air chamber, the valve system prevents or reduces air from being blown into the directly opposite chamber. Thus, if air is directed into a forward air chamber, and is shut off from flowing into the rear chamber, the simulator will experience a “nose-up” pitching movement. Similarly, if air is directed into a right-side chamber, and is reduced or eliminated from flowing into a left-side chamber, the simulator will experience a “left bank” rolling movement.
Attitude changes in the flight simulator of this invention are caused by differences in air pressure that develop as air escapes from beneath a skirt that surrounds the segmented air chambers that comprise the system. As air is constantly flowing from a blower, and is directed into all chambers as is dictated by the valve positioning, air pressure within a chamber into which less air is being directed will be reduced as air escapes, and that chamber will partially collapse until the air pressure is approximately equal to pressures elsewhere in the system. When a chamber collapses, the simulator will “tip” in that direction, producing the change in cabin attitude that results from movement of the controls. Conversely, when more air is directed into a chamber, the air pressure in that chamber will be increased, and a greater volume of air escaping beneath the skirt will cause that chamber to rise, relative to the surface upon which the simulator is resting, causing the cockpit attitude to “tip” away from that air chamber. When the control stick is centered, or neutralized, air will be directed equally into all air chambers, and the simulator will assume a neutral orientation with all air chambers being inflated to an equal height above the resting surface.
The flight simulator of this invention has few moving parts, and may be constructed from flexible and semi-flexible materials that are able to be folded and stored in a relatively small volume. The only external resource required to operate the flight simulator is electricity to power the blower that provides a constant supply of air for the system. The same characteristics of simplicity of installation and operation provide a portability that is not available in the large and complex simulators of the prior art. The relative simplicity of moving parts, and the use of inexpensive materials contribute to provide a flight simulator that is relatively inexpensive to acquire, simple to assemble, and that exhibits a range of motion and movement that is the equal of flight simulators found in the prior art.
While the flight simulator depicted and explained herein is shown with a simple, mechanical controller, other more elaborate controllers that may be electronic, hydraulic, or mechanical, are equally capable of controlling the air valves used to direct air to the proper air chambers, and may be suitable for permanent or semi-permanent installations.
An overhead view of the simulator 10 of this invention is depicted in
In
By contrast,
Similarly,
It is to be understood that the embodiments described herein are exemplary of the simulator of this invention, and that other and further controls and movements for the simulator will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art. Such other controls and movements are contemplated to be within the scope of the invention as described, and the scope is limited only by the appended claims and legal equivalents thereof.
Claims
1. A pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator comprising:
- a simulator base further comprising a plurality of air cushions, each said cushion having a downward facing opening to allow air entering said cushion to exit through said downward facing opening;
- an air supplier for supplying air to said plurality of air cushions sufficient to selectively elevate one or more of said cushions sufficiently to allow air to escape from beneath said one or more cushions;
- a simulator body situated atop said simulator base, said simulator body further comprising a cockpit having a set of flight controls, said set of flight controls further comprising at least a control stick or yoke and rudder pedals;
- a controller box further comprising valves for allowing or restricting air from said air supply to enter one or more of said plurality of air cushions;
- said valves in said controller box being responsive to movements of said control stick or yoke such that the volume of air flowing into any one or more of said air cushions may be increased or decreased when said control stick or yoke is moved;
- whereby, the attitude of said simulator may be varied in accordance with movements of said control stick or yoke to cause said simulator to pitch up or down, and to roll right or left, and to attain an attitude having any combination of pitch and roll.
2. The pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator claimed in claim 1, said controller box further comprising mechanical linkages between said control stick or yoke and said valves such that forward movement of said control stick or yoke produces forward pitch of said simulator, rearward movement of said control stick or yoke produces rearward pitch of said simulator, movement of said control stick or yoke to the right produces a roll to the right of said simulator, and movement of said control stick or yoke to the left produces a roll to the left of said simulator.
3. The pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator claimed in claim 1, said controller box further comprising hydraulic linkages between said control stick or yoke and said valves, and said simulator pitches up or down and rolls right or left in response to movements of said control stick or yoke.
4. The pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator claimed in claim 1, said controller box further comprising electronic sensors on said control stick or yoke and electronic valve actuators on said valves, whereby said simulator pitches up or down and rolls right or left in response to movements of said control stick or yoke.
5. The pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator claimed in claim 1, further comprising a support frame, said support frame extending substantially around said simulator and comprising a plurality of flexible connectors and pistons whereby selective actuation of one or more of said pistons causes said simulator to move laterally or longitudinally or rotationally or any combination thereof.
6. The pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator claimed in claim 5, further comprising said plurality of pistons being activated selectively in response to movement of said rudder pedals, thereby causing said simulator to have rotational movement.
7. The pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator claimed in claim 5, further comprising said plurality of pistons being activated selectively in response to inputs from flight controls or from an external control panel whereby said inputs cause said simulator to experience acceleration.
8. In a flight simulator having a hovercraft base comprising a plurality of air chambers having air outlets and a simulator cockpit situated atop and supported by said plurality of air chambers, a method of simulating flight conditions comprising the steps of:
- directing volumes of air into said plurality of air chambers in approximately equal amounts to produce the simulation of level flight;
- directing a relatively greater volume of air into one or more adjacent air chambers whereby a section of said simulator cockpit supported by said adjacent air chambers is elevated, and another section of said simulator cockpit supported by air chambers that do not receive a greater volume of air is lowered, to produce the simulation of other than level flight.
9. A pneumatically supported spatial attitude simulator comprising:
- a simulator base further comprising a plurality of air chambers, each said chamber being open at a lower end whereby air entering said chamber will cause said chamber to be elevated sufficiently for air to escape beneath said chamber;
- an air supplier for supplying a quantity air to said plurality of air chambers;
- a plurality of valves and valve actuators for regulating the volume of air entering each of said plurality of air chambers;
- a simulator body supported by said simulator base and comprising a cockpit having flight controls such that the spatial attitude of said simulator body is determined by the amount of elevation of one or more of said air chambers with respect to the elevation of other of said air chambers;
- said valve actuators being responsive to movements of said flight controls such that the valves regulate the volume of air flowing into each of said air chambers, thereby causing one or more of said air chambers to elevate with respect to non-elevating air chambers in response to movements of said flight controls;
- whereby, the attitude of said simulator may be varied in accordance with movements of said control stick or yoke to cause said simulator to pitch up or down, and to roll right or left, and to attain an attitude having any combination of pitch and roll.
10. A spatial attitude simulator as claimed in claim 9, said simulator body further comprising a simulated cockpit of an existing aircraft, said simulated cockpit replicating flight controls, visual display, instrumentation and communications as found in said existing aircraft;
- said simulator body being in electronic communication with a controller, said controller receiving electrical inputs from said simulator body representing movements of flight controls, and causing valve actuators to operate valves to direct air into one or more of said air chambers,
- whereby said air simulator base responds to elevation changes of said air chambers to place said simulated cockpit of an existing aircraft in spatial attitudes as directed by said flight controls, and said visual display and instrumentation provide a simulator pilot with information corresponding to said spatial attitudes.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 3, 2012
Publication Date: Oct 3, 2013
Patent Grant number: 9275553
Inventor: Lance Toland (Griffin, GA)
Application Number: 13/438,587